ZION NATIONAL PARK:
This 47,000 acre park was established as a national park in 1919.
The Geology:
Rock layers and monoliths at Zion were formed by sediments of sand dunes and oceans deposited between 50 and 200 million years ago.
The People:
Zion's first residents tracked mammoths and camels but these animals died out about 8,000 years ago. Over the next 1500 years a community of farmers called Ancestral Puebloans evolved. They grew corn and squash, and stored the surplus crops in granaries. They lived here till about 1300 A.D. From then till the 1850s the Southern Paiute Indians lived and farmed here.
The first white settlers were Mormons sent from Salt Lake City in the 1850s and 1860s to grow cotton in the warmer climate. They called the area Zion (the Promised Land) and were so inspired by its natural beauty they gave exalted names to what they saw, e.g. Angels Landing, Great White Throne, Altar of Sacrifice.
Carmel Junction:
First stop of the morning, and totally unremarkable EXCEPT for the mural on what would otherwise have been about the most boring wall in the US.
Bison
We were lucky enough to see this herd of bison feeding by the road.
Checkerboard Mesa:
There is no other example of this rock formation in the world.
Once we arrived at the Park we had about 5 hours before our rooms were available, plenty of time to walk 3 of the park Trails.
- Riverside walk:
- 2. Weeping Rock trail:
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| As we began to walk this Trail this sign seemed all-too-true. |
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| We saw several Deer. |
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| When we got there we thought it a little disappointing |
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| At least the views of the Virgin River from the trail were spectacular |
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